Intel is releasing yet another fix to stop its CPUs crashing, root cause found

After several months of pain, Intel says it's determined the root cause behind its crashing Raptor Lake CPUs and is releasing a final update.

Intel has finally tracked down the “root cause” behind the CPU issues it faced with its 13th and 14th-gen Raptor Lake CPUs this year and is rolling out an update. This new Intel CPU fix will address the fourth and final scenario in which extreme voltage fluctuations can cause damage and, hopefully, will be the last BIOS update that Intel CPU owners have to make.

It hasn’t been an easy time for Intel this year, but this new fix might be a chance to repair some of the reputational damage the company has suffered. It couldn’t come any sooner, either, with new next-gen CPUs expected to be launching later this year, giving the company a chance to launch the best gaming CPU after a few years in second place.

The good news for Intel, however, is that this fix will bring a definitive end to the problem for current 13th and 14th-gen Intel Core CPU owners, or at least it hopes it will. In a statement, Intel confirmed four possible scenarios that triggered the Vmin Shift Instability problems on Raptor Lake CPUs. One problem with motherboard power settings is already solved by applying Intel’s recommended power settings, while two others (relating to microcode algorithms on the CPU) have been fixed after Intel released updates back in June and August.

However, these updates were launched to mitigate the problem without Intel identifying the true cause. In this latest statement, Intel explains that the Vmin Shift Instability fault lies in the clock tree circuit in the IA core, which it describes as being vulnerable to “reliability aging” when CPU voltages and temperatures are increased.

Intel has identified four scenarios that can cause the Vmin Shift to occur, causing CPU instability. Only the last scenario, relating to the existing microcode that requests higher voltages when the CPU is typically sitting idle or under a low load, is currently unfixed. This final 0x12B microcode update will address the problem.

Intel says its own internal testing shows that performance following the update is “within run-to-run variation” under expected loads, citing several benchmarks and games, including Cinebench and Cyberpunk 2077. This means performance after the patch should be consistent with previous performance, with differences within the margin of error.

Intel is working with motherboard manufacturers to issue this fix, which also includes the two previous microcode updates, via BIOS updates over the next few weeks. Thankfully, next-gen Intel Arrow Lake CPUs aren’t going to be affected by this problem, and neither are the Intel Lunar Lake CPUs that launched for laptops earlier this week.

If you’re running with a 13th or 14th-gen Intel Core CPU, and you’ve not applied one of these CPU fixes yet, now’s the time, or your CPU might suffer permanent damage. You can check out our how to flash a BIOS guide to help you get started. With any luck, this will be the last time you have to do so.